What Time Cannot Erase
by Firefly Rebirth
Summary: It’s been seven years since Vegnagun and nine since he was lost. She works up the courage to say goodbye, but he longer resides in the Farplane. If Tidus was able to come back, does that mean anyone could?
1. Only A Memory

_these wounds won't seem to heal  
this pain is just too real  
there's just too much that time cannot erase_

-evanescence - "my immortal"

            The blond man stepped forward, putting out his hand for his daughter to take.  The girl jumped up and clung to his neck.  "Daddy!"

            Tidus smiled and played with the girl's sandy blond hair.  Her huge sea green eyes were sparkling.  The girl was almost five now, having been born a year and a half after the man had married the love of his life. 

            The aforementioned love appeared now, smiling softly.  Yuna's eyes, one green and one blue, revealed the old grief she was trying to hide as she finished passing through the Farplane gate.

            "How was it?" Tidus asked.

            "Good," Yuna stated simply, nodding.  "I introduced Lennie to my father and mother.  I spoke with Chappu and Auron as well."

            The little girl, Lenne, perked at the sound of her name.  "Why did that old guy only have one eye?"

            "He lost the other one in a battle, honey."

            "What's battle?"

            "A very bad thing," Yuna said.  She drew close to her husband and began stroking her daughter's hair.  She was glad that the girl didn't know the meaning of the word.  When she had been that age, battles were taking place all around her.  Fights with Sin, fight with its spawn…  And there had been so many more fiends.

            "Here, I'll go talk with Dad now," Tidus announced.  He placed Lenne into her mother's arms and disappeared into the Farplane.

            Yuna took the child down to the Guado inn and bought her a sweet drink.  Lenne sat on the counter and sucked the thick liquid through a straw while her mother sipped ice water and thought.

            She hated losing people.  She had said goodbye to Auron nine years ago and it still hurt to think that her former guardian was dead.  Even though she had led a mission to save the world herself, she never thought her leadership could match Auron's.  He had been strong and calm even in the worst of times, while she had a tendency to become emotional.

            Yuna had gotten her happily ever after.  Tidus had come back, and every day she was thankful.  She had Lenne, the product of their love, and now she had another baby growing within her—although she was still waiting to tell anyone.

            So many people were happy now.  Leblanc had finally gotten Nooj to marry her three years ago, Donna and Barthello had tied the knot…  Baralai and Shelinda were certainly spending plenty of time together…  Paine did not have a special man in her life yet, but Yuna really could not imagine the warrior settling down.

            But then there was Rikku.  She seemed happy enough traveling across Spira on the Celsius, but there were times when Auron was mentioned and her spiraled emerald eyes would grow ethereally distant.

            Yuna had chosen to mention this to Auron, who had seemed surprised, if anything.

            "Tell her to forget me," Auron had insisted.  "You can all forget about me now.  I am…only a memory…"

            "Sir Auron!" Yuna had protested.  "I'll never forget you!  How could you ask me to?"  She had paused, considering.  "I'm sure everyone else feels the same way…"

            Auron's image had disappeared then, melting into a cloud of scattering pyreflies.

            "Tidus came back because I wanted him to," Yuna whispered thoughtfully.  She had then taken Lenne's hand and led her away.

*

            Aboard the Celsius on the journey back to Besaid, Yuna cornered Rikku on the deck.  "Hey, Rikku, how are you doing?"

            Rikku turned toward her cousin.  She was wearing a green tank top shirt and a floor-length khaki skirt.  Her long blond hair was free, save a few strands that were pulled from the top of her head into a braid over the rest of the shining hair.  She had no bangs, only some shorter, featherlike strands that framed the edges of her face nicely.

            She had grown up so much in these past years, Yuna noted.  Not only in dress, but often her choice of words was more conservative and she was not nearly as impulsive in her actions.  That didn't mean she didn't get excited often, but…

            "I'm good, Yunie.  How was Guadosalam?"

            "Great.  Tromell and the other Guado are doing well.  So are the Ronso ambassadors, Lian and Ayde."

            "I remember those guys," Rikku said, grinning.  "They sure had a lot of guts!"

            Yuna put her hands behind her back and walked forward.  "I also went to the Farplane."

            "Ah," Rikku articulated.  She did her best to smile.  "How was it?"

            "I think it was good for me to see people again.  And I think it'd be good for you to go, too," the former summoner added quickly.

            Rikku waved her hands frantically in front of her face.  "Aw, Yunie, you know I don't do that."

            "You went once."

            "That was an exception.  We had to get Vegnagun."

            "Make another exception, then."

            "Why?"

            "Because I think you need to speak with Sir Auron."

            Rikku let her hands slip to her sides.  "Aw, I dunno…"

            "Think about it, won't you?" Yuna asked, inclining her head.  "I am certain it would do you some good."

            Rikku's mouth slanted into a frown.

            "We all need to say goodbye sometimes."

*

            "Hey, Tidus," Yuna murmured, turning onto her side.  "Are you still awake?"

            Tidus draped one arm around her.  "Yeah."

            Yuna arranged the sheets around them.  They were back at home now, at their modest home in Besaid.  Lenne was asleep in her small bed on the far side of the bedroom, so the two spoke in whispers.

            "Did you speak with Sir Auron?"

            Tidus was quiet, so, after a few seconds, Yuna encouraged him by squeezing his hand.  The man then spoke.  "Well, it was kinda weird."

            "What do you mean?"

            "I tried to call him, but he…he never showed up."

            Yuna whirled around.  "What?"

            Tidus shrugged.  "Guess he didn't feel like to talking to me?"

            "Guess so…"

*

            "Brother," Rikku said quietly.

            The man didn't hear, apparently.

            She poked his shoulder.  "Brother!"

            "Wh-What is it?" he screeched, finally turning around to face his younger sister.  "Can't you see I'm piloting?!"

            Rikku crossed her arms.  "Never mind, then!"

            She stomped from the pilot's seat to the navigation panel, where Buddy sat.  "Could you set a course for Guadosalam, please?"

            "Sure thing," Buddy said, leaning forward to enter the coordinates.

            "Guadosalam?  We were just there!" complained the pilot.  "What's going on, Rikku?"

            "I'm going to take some time for myself, if that's all right with you."

            Brother began stuttering.  "B-But you're my first officer!  You can't just _abandon ship_!"

            Rikku's voice turned into a low growl.  "I _said_ I was taking some time for myself, _okay_?"

            He surrendered, letting his head droop.  "All right.  Take all the time you need."

            Rikku left, victorious.

*

            The Al-Bhed arrived at Guadosalam late in the afternoon, but she shut herself up in a room at the inn until well past midnight.  It was then that she snuck out to the Farplane, wearing a long, cream-colored cloak over her green tank top and khaki skirt.  Her hair was French-braided and looped into a bun at the base of her neck.

            Rikku glided through the streets of the sleeping Guado city until she had reached the glowing barrier to the Farplane.  Pyreflies swirled at the entrance.  Over nine years ago she had waited here with Auron; neither of them had wished to go inside.  So, they had sat and waited together while the others futilely—or so Rikku thought at the time—relived their pasts.

            "Memories are nice, but that's all they are."

            Were those not the words she had spoken to Tidus then?

            How much she had changed!  She had always tried to get over her sad past by ignoring its existence.  She tried still, but there were nights in her cabin when she cried herself to sleep.  Cried because the memories refused to fade, refused to let her live on in peace.

            If peace would not come to her, it was time to find it.  Rikku took a deep breath and walked inside.

            Not daring to stop, the woman kept walking until she came to the edge of the platform.  There she gazed upon the rainbows that were fields of flowers and the glorious golden waterfalls.  This was certainly the most beautiful place she had ever seen—although it was also the place that frightened her most.

            Why?

            A dozen images appeared before her, perhaps more.  There was her mother, her dead siblings, all her friends who had been buried in the ruins of Home.  Rikku sank to her knees and began sobbing.  She had twenty-four years behind her, but only now could she fall and mourn for those who had died so long ago.

            A dull, throbbing pain overtook her heart.  She finally rose to her feet, tripping over the long skirt and cloak.  She could not speak, and instead stared into the faces of the people she had lost.

            They all smiled at her.

            "Thank you for coming," her mother said tenderly.  "I worried you never would."

            "It was too hard to think about seeing all of you," Rikku finally managed to say.  "Forgive me, _Sudran_."  When she raised her eyes to at last see her mother, Rikku was shocked to find out how much she now resembled the woman.  No wonder Cid would so often look at his daughter and sigh…!

            "You're my youngest, Rikku, and I never got to know you well.  I'm so sorry that I could not be a mother to my only daughter."

            "Please, you don't have to apologize to _me_.  I'm the one who didn't come and see you."

            "Then we're even," her mother declared, tilting her head and winking.  "Right?"

            "Right!"  Rikku smiled as the moist warmth of tears covered her face.  She had last seen her mother twenty years ago, but memories of the woman's maternal tenderness flooded back into her heart.  The wound left by her mother's premature and gruesome death finally began to heal.

            Could she begin recovering from the other losses, too?

            Rikku spoke with her brothers and her friends for a while after that; the hours passed quickly as she wasn't paying them much attention.  When she felt herself teetering at the brink of emotional exhaustion, she allowed the images of her loved ones to fade.  She was alone, but no so lonely as she had once been.

            There was one person left to summon.  Should she do it?  Could she bear it now, or would it be better to wait?

            Too late.  She was already thinking of him.

            Rikku carefully raised her head, ready to confront the image of that last person.  That man who had guarded her as well as Yuna on the pilgrimage nine years ago.

            But he didn't appear.

            "Auron?" Rikku tried cautiously, standing.  "Auron?"

            She hadn't wanted to confront his memory before, but, now that he wouldn't come, she wanted to see him desperately.  She began to panic.  He wouldn't appear for her?  She didn't deserve to say goodbye to him?

            Rikku ran left and then right on the platform, calling his name with an increasing level of hopelessness.  "Auron?  Auron!"

            She frowned and used the long sleeves of the cloak to wipe away the tears that penetrated her defenses.  "You—you jerk!  H-How _dare_ you not come!"

            Rikku pulled the cloak tightly around herself.  She had worked so hard to get the courage to return to the Farplane.  She had come to peace with all those deaths.  She only had had one left to go and she could have moved on!

            "_Sayhea_," she whimpered childishly on her way to the exit.

            "Rikku!"

            On the side near the doorway, her mother had reappeared.

            "_Sudran_?"  The woman approached the flickering image.  "What is it?"

            "The man you're calling for, Auron…  He has disappeared from here."

            Rikku trembled a little.  "What does that mean?"

            Her mother shook her head.  "I don't know.  The only other time that happened was when—was when the man named Tidus left us."

            Rikku's temperature rose.  She felt as though she might faint.  Tidus had disappeared from the Farplane and come back to life!  That meant…that meant…

            "Could he be alive?"

            "I don't know."

            "I've gotta…I've gotta go look for him!"

            Rikku's mother grinned.  "All right.  Good luck, Rikku.  And please, visit me again soon."

            "I will!"  Rikku promised.  "'Love you, _Sudran_."

            "Send my love to your father as well."

            Rikku was in such a great mood that she readily accepted.


	2. A Lady's Man

            Rikku burst from the Farplane gate onto the bridge.  But a sight halted her feet and almost caused the woman to fall to the ground.

            The sight—vision, mirage, whatever it was—was gone practically the exact instant it appeared, leaving no evidence that it had ever been a thing of substance.

            Rikku blinked a few times.  She had just been overly excited, that was all.  She hadn't seen the outline of a very familiar man glowing over there.  He—or it, whatever—_hadn't_ been seated on the ledge.  Certainly not just as Auron had sat nine years before.

            Still, the mere idea was enough to excavate a memory that promptly commandeered Rikku's thoughts.  She slid down to sit where he had sat.

            _"Hey…you all right?" Rikku wondered, approaching the tired-looking man.  He appeared almost…weak.  She certainly had never seen him in such a state before.  She didn't quite know how to react._

_            "Fine," he uttered gruffly._

_            "Eh?"  She hadn't quite understood him._

_            Auron looked up at her and forcefully declared, "I am fine."_

_            "Uh-huh," she said, betraying her skepticism.  She unstrapped the canteen from her belt and offered it to him._

_            Auron took it silently, allowing himself a few sips from the rectangular bottle.  He wiped excess water from his chapped lips and handed the offering back to the girl, who tied it back on her side._

_            "Thank you," the man added, almost as an afterthought._

_            "Well, you're welcome," Rikku replied, a bit sarcastically.  She regretted the edge she had put in her words upon another glance at the man; he sure didn't look any better._

_            "What are you staring at, young lady?"_

_            Young lady?  Was she to be scolded as a child?  She was all of fifteen—didn't he know?  Of course, with those streaks in his hair, he probably had at least twice her years._

_            "How old are you, anyway?" Rikku asked._

_            "Twent—Thirty-five," he corrected hastily.  Rikku's eyebrows rose._

_            "I don't obsess over it," he replied, dismissing his mistake.  "It's just a number.  It means nothing.  Maturity comes with experience, not with the passage of time."_

_            She clapped her hands together.  "What a cool way to think about it!"_

_            "You can't be old at all, but you are a guardian nonetheless.  Your dedication to Yuna shows…something special."_

_            She beamed.  So she did meet his approval after all?_

_            "Sometimes I forget to see you as the child you still are," he chuckled.  Observing her pouting lips, Auron added, "But only sometimes."_

_            Rikku was about to defend herself when she saw Auron's head was falling.  "Hey!"  She was against him in an instant.  His face buried itself in her stomach._

_            Auron pulled away and began breathing a little hard.  Rikku crouched down and stared, frightened, up into his suffering face._

_            "I can mix you up a potion—anything you want."  She was already digging in her pockets among the tiny bottles of elixirs and ethers and antidotes.  "You're not poisoned—?"_

_            He dismissed her with a wave of one hand; the other was busy rubbing his right temple._

_            "I can't help…?"_

_            Auron's smile was sad.  "I know what the problem is, and no potion will cure it.  There's nothing you can do, so don't worry about it, Rikku."_

_            She was hesitant.  This was, by far, the longest conversation she had ever shared with Auron.  Now that they were talking, she didn't want to stop.  But, at the same time, she was helpless because he was sick, and was hurt because he wouldn't let her try and help him._

_            "Thank you."_

_            The gratitude was expressed almost silently, but it was enough to make Rikku smile again.  She got up and sat next to Auron, who managed to smile a little himself._

_            "Auron…will you be okay?"_

_            "Yes, of course."  He looked surprised.  "Once we get away from this place, I will be fine."_

_            Rikku swung her legs up and down before glancing sideways at the Farplane gate.  Inside there was—or there could be—oh, she didn't want to think about it…_

_            "So, why do you avoid the Farplane?"_

_            Did he _have_ to ask that?_

_            Rikku sighed.  "I guess…I don't want to drag up old memories right now."_

_            "Just now?"_

_            "Maybe…maybe later.  Maybe, after this is over, I'll be ready.  'Til then, I've gotta stay focused.  I've gotta find a way to save Yunie."_

_            "Yuna must continue her pilgrimage," he broke in, somewhat distantly._

_            "Who says?" Rikku wondered grumpily, crossing her arms._

_            Auron was silent.  It annoyed her._

_            Rikku sprang to her feet.  "Aw, what do you know?  We'll save Yunie.  She won't have to die—not like all the other summoners!"_

_            Something somewhat cold wrapped around her wrist.  She had to look to find out that it was Auron's hand._

_            He let go immediately and laughed under his breath.  "You… don't give up that conviction, Rikku."  He stood, wobbling a bit._

            She grabbed him, trying to support the man, her hands taking hold of his muscular arms.

_            Auron steadied himself and she had no excuse to continue clutching him.  "On the other hand…"_

_            "Hmm?"_

_            "On the other hand, if you keep acting so maturely, people will keep forgetting you are still a child.  You will be forced to grow up."_

_            "Aren't I already grown up?"_

_            Again he laughed.  "Almost.  But take care:  childhood, once lost, is irretrievable."_

            Rikku came back to herself all in a rush.  How long she had been sitting there, staring at the piece of empty ledge beside her, she had not a clue.

            Memories were so powerful.  That's why she didn't like to let them out.  They overtook her, paralyzed her.  They could be almost…real. They stirred up the embers of feelings, flames she had tried to let die.

            It had done her no good to fall in love with a man after he had left the world.  But those memories of him had rekindled the flames that had been only whispers nine years ago.  Worst yet, the imperfections of her interactions with Auron had been softened greatly with the passage of time.

            True, they had spoken little and she had usually quarreled with him; he insisted Yuna continue her pilgrimage and Rikku wanted anything but.  These times were greatly overshadowed, however, by every occasion where he had bestowed kindness upon her.  When he had guarded her in battle, or had forgiven her for oversleeping—or that day when she twisted her knee and he carried her on his back to the next Travel Agency where a potion could be bought.

            Rikku treasured these memories.  She coveted them, and secretly.  She at times fought, but, once in a while, dove willingly in and chose to partake in the past.  Like just now.

            Presently, the woman took one last look at the entrance to the Farplane.  Auron had spent nine years in that place, but he wasn't there anymore.  That meant he was somewhere else now.  Somewhere out in Spira. 

~

            The young man frowned and turned away from the Commsphere.  He had wanted to speak with Rikku and she wasn't on board.

            "Oh, Gippal," she had so many times told him in annoyance, "if you _have_ to get in touch with me, just call the Celsius!  You know I'm always there!"

            The woman then pulled herself from his arms and left his sight.  Every single date they had seemed to end that same way.

            It was frustrating, to say the very least; their on again, off again relationship.  He liked her best of all the girls he took out, but that fact there _were_ others in his life irked Rikku to no end.

            "I can't go out with a player like you," she was fond of saying.  "You'll break my heart."

            Rikku's accusations were usually accompanied by her making a face—she pushed her tongue through her lips and squeezed her green Al-Bhed eyes tightly shut.  "_Nyeh_!"

            Was it _his_ fault, now, that he was such a hot commodity?  Did he _insist_ that all the eligible women of Spira constantly throw themselves at him?  He just had the cool looks and sweet-talking lips no sane female could resist.

            "You _could_ just tell them to get lost," Rikku would say each time he offered his nearly flawless explanation.

            "You're jealous," he would tease, pinching one of her cheeks affectionately.

            She was apt to stare at him disgustedly before pushing the offending hand away.

            "How do you expect a girl to be serious about you if you're never serious about her!  You insensitive—"

            Gippal allowed his recollections to stop there.  Rikku was capable of cursing worse than a sailor when she was angry enough.

            Anyway.

            Miss Serious was not around for him to inform her he had changed his mind about women—that he was ready for a bit of monogamy.

            Well, he was almost tempted to change his mind right back.

            Still…Gippal was approaching thirty and his attitudes toward life were changing.  Nooj was married and Baralai was practically there, too; all he had to do was give Shelinda that ring he'd bought…

            Gippal scowled.  He knew Rikku was the one he wanted.  He wanted to be serious with her, and only her.  No other girl he knew could make him feel the way Rikku did.  He could be cool and confident with anyone save her.  The way he felt around her, the way his heart threatened to spill over—it made him defensive, on edge.

            Was that frustrated, angsty, anxious feeling—_could_ it be, rather—the illusive thing people were always talking about?  Was it the subject of so many books and songs?

            Was it…love?

            Gippal felt cheated.  Love was suffering, waiting, uncertainty.  His heart was filled not with joy, but with fear.

            And he wasn't too fond of being afraid.  He might profess his love to Rikku and the worst she could ever do in return would be to refuse him.  That worst, though, was pretty damn horrible.

            Rejection was what he feared.  The mounting feelings and desires were growing in power, though, and refused to be buried.  The small—infinitesimal, even—possibility of rejection prevented Gippal's confession.

            He was about ready to explode.

            This was no good, no good at all.  He couldn't _explode_.  The only apparent escape from his current torture would be to tell Rikku how he felt.  Nothing at all could happen otherwise.

            Gippal emerged from his hut and was immediately assaulted by the scorching desert sun of Bikanel Island.  He headed toward his craft, a small airship that he'd had built to facilitate his duties as leader of the Machine Faction.

            "Off again, Gippal?" Nhadala wondered from her post nearby.

            "Private business," shouted Gippal over the cry of the wind.  He spat out the sand that had entered his mouth.

            Nhadala put her hands on her hips.  "Another girl in Luca?  Or is it Kilika this time?"

            "Nothing like that."

            "Uh-huh…"

            Gippal shrugged.  She would never believe the truth, being all too familiar with his past behavior.

            "You're in charge, Nhadala!" Gippal called, waving as he climbed aboard.  He took the pilot's seat upon entering, and, within minutes, the Desert Rose was airborne.


	3. Calling In Favors

            _Now if _I_ were a dead guy, where would I be?_

            It was the question Rikku found herself forced to ask.  Auron was out in Spira, but where?  What was his favorite spot?  Who would he want to see given the chance?  These questions didn't have answers.  Rikku knew she had never known Auron well enough to try and guess what or whom he desired to see.  She wasn't so foolish as to guess he would want to see _her_.  She refused to get her hopes up quite that high.

            Still, where was there to look?  Rikku thought she might scour Spira on foot, retracing the pilgrimage of nine years ago in hopes of uncovering clues.  Still, she was a modern woman in a constantly advancing world.  She had some money saved up.  She could acquire a small airship if she really needed to.  That would stay as a last resort, however; she wasn't willing to empty her savings so hastily when old favors could be called upon.

            Rikku was well aware Gippal had his own airship, the_ Desert Rose_ or something corny like that.  Maybe she could ask to borrow it from him?  He could be dropped off in Kilika, Luca, or Bevelle, and visit a batch of his hundred girlfriends.  That guy was such a player.  She didn't mean to, but Rikku found her temperature rising.  She harbored old affection toward Auron, yes, but fresher still was the resentment she possessed toward Gippal and his…habits.

            She remembered the times she had seen other women draped around his neck, younger and prettier ones.  At first it hurt her, disgust her too when he would pull the girls off and croon about how she was the best of all.  Why did she have to be the _best_?  Why could she never be the _one_, the _only_ person to make his life complete?

            Rikku had all but closed her heart completely toward Gippal.  She now let stay in her life as a friend and nothing more.  There would be no more dates, no more holding hands, no more embraces, no more kisses delivered by his well-practiced lips.  During her teenage years, before the Gullwings were formed, she and Gippal had been in a relationship for several months.  For a while, that admiration for the deceased samurai escaped her thoughts and she considered only the young, fresh, reciprocated love Gippal had to offer.

            Gippal shared his affections with more girls than one, however, and, upon discovering this in a most unpleasant way, Rikku's heart was smashed into pieces.  Her complete disillusionment took its sweet time, however.  Gippal always tried to woe her back, and for so many evenings he almost succeeded.   She would just about give in and think they could bring back the exclusive relationship they had once shared.

            It never worked, and the only way Rikku could avoid the pain was to tell herself she didn't care about Gippal and his stupid love life.  She certainly didn't want any part in it, either.  So, after several years of careful practice, she could work with Gippal or even have a casual chat with him and not suffer the pangs of jealously that had once made their meetings unbearable.  She was desensitized to him, even if he ran his hands down her back or tried to touch his lips to her neck.  She was actually quite good at fighting him off and going on like nothing at all had occurred.

            Why was she thinking about Gippal again?  Oh yeah.  She needed to call in a favor.  Rikku made her way from the Farplane to the inn.  There she used the Commsphere provided to get through to Bikanel Island.

            "Nhadala of the Machine Faction here!" came the drowsy response.  "How may I help you?"  The woman's eyes focused, and her voice began showing an element of actual cheer.  "Oh, it's you, Rikku.  Hello!"

            "Hey," Rikku responded pleasantly.  "How are things over there?"

            "Pretty good.  We've gotten used to our leader taking off all the time," the woman added, failing not unintentionally to hide her irritation.

            "You make a pretty great leader yourself, Nhadala.  You should just kick Gippal out and take over."

            They laughed together for a few moments.  Nhadala, too, was often frustrated by Gippal, although for the sake of business reasons, not romantic ones.

            "So how can I get in touch with Gippal?"

            Nhadala shrugged, putting a hand to her forehead to shield herself from the sun.  "My best guess would be to call the_ Desert Rose_."

            "Okay!  Thanks so much, Nhadala."

            "Any time."

            The transmission ended.  Rikku leaned back in her chair.  She was a bit hesitant to call Gippal's ship directly.  What if he had some girl on board?  It would be disgusting to interrupt yet another of his flirtations.  Still, she wanted to find Auron, and, if that meant seeing something she didn't like one more time, it would all be worth it in the end.

~

            Gippal couldn't sleep.  He was stalking about the interior of his small ship, trying to tire himself out enough so that rest would be possible.  It was cozy enough, the _Desert Rose_.  He had had the walls of the egg-shaped vessel painted a calming, deep aquamarine to rid them of the metallic shimmer so common in ships.   In the very front was the control panel, a large, crescent desk covered with tiny screen, gauges, buttons, and knobs.

            In the back was his small bedroom, where he had a long, low bed covered by a green comforter.  Next to it stood a metal table with a screen sunk into the top.  Here he would do his business transactions or select a song or broadcast to watch or listen to.  He had a shelf over his bed filled with those old-fashioned books, the ones made out of paper.  They had been a gift from Baralai and Nooj, and, although he had previously seen little use in a degradable form of entertainment, the stories and lessons the volumes contained were a good cure for boredom.

            There was carpet in his bedroom, too, and he enjoyed plopping down on his bed and letting his feet sink into the thick blue fibers.  Late at night, after returning from a date or a long day of Machine Faction business, Gippal would take out his guitar and strum a song or two before becoming tired enough to lay back and read himself to sleep.

            He liked his ship.  On the outside, an actual desert rose was painted in orange, reds, and yellows.  The inside was just as nice, perhaps better.  It calmed him and made him content to be alone.

            Usually.

            Right now, Gippal was anything but content.  He couldn't find Rikku.  He'd called Yuna, Paine, Nooj, Baralai—no one yet who had seen her recently.  He had bothered Brother to the point where the Gullwings leader just about screamed Gippal's ears off.

            So he sat down at his desk, stared into the glowing blue screen set in it.  He drummed his fingers across the menu, eventually choosing a song he had recorded.  It was a little instrumental piece he had composed himself.  Almost as soon as the song began, though, the screen fuzzed and displayed the very image of the illusive lady he was searching for.

            "Rikku!  Where the hell are you?"

            Rikku blinked a couple of times.  Gippal looked down into the projection of her beautiful face.  Her hair was arranged very attractively.  It seemed to be braided in some elaborate fashion, and it tied at the nape of her neck.  And those spiraled emeralds of eyes she had!   He could have looked at her all day.

            The woman on the other end appeared to collect herself from the shock of being yelled at in place of a greeting.  "Were you looking for me or something?"

            "Yeah."  Of course he was!  "I've got something I really need to talk to you about."

            "Well, so do I, in fact," Rikku replied.  "So can you come pick me up?"

            "Yeah!"  He realized he wasn't containing himself very well.  "Uh, where are you?"

            "Guadosalam.  I'll go out to meet you at the entrance to the Thunder Plains."

            "Su—"  The screen fuzzed back into a blue nothing.  Whatever she needed, it was urgent.

            Gippal could only smile to himself as he slid out of his chair and gingerly walked to the navigation terminal at the front of his ship.  Rikku _already_ wanted to speak with him.  That was the one huge obstacle out of the way.  Maybe this whole confessing his love thing wouldn't be so difficult after all.

~

            As soon as Rikku deactivated the Commsphere, she was standing and packing away the few belongings she had brought with her.  She put on her cloak again, tied the hood tightly around her head, plucked up her satchel, and left the room.  She paid the innkeeper, who seemed surprised by anyone checking out before the sun rose, and headed through the labyrinthine environment that was Guadosalam, stepping over knots in the wood that shaped the hollows.

            Without a second thought she descended into the darkened tunnel that lead to the Thunder Plains.  Nine years ago this place scared her half to death, and Auron had had no tolerance for her childish reaction to the never-ending storm.  He had been cruel to her then, or so she had felt at the time.  Now the harshness of his manner was softened in her mind, and she could be proud of herself for overcoming the foolish fear of lightning.

            Though it was a _bit_ scary, still…

            Going outside meant plunging herself into darkness.  Rikku hovered at the end of the passageway, protected from rain and lightning and only occasionally bothered by the rumble of thunder.  A wind came up and blew some water over her huddling form.  She first retreated a few steps back into the cave, then bunched a bit of her cloak over one hand and used it to wipe off her face.

            It was so dark.  She wasn't scared, really she wasn't.  She had fought Sin and Vegnagun and all the fiends in between.  But the dark, broken only by the slivers of lightning piercing the skies, was slightly imposing.  Would Gippal or the sun arrive first?  She longed for either one.

            Suddenly a round disk of light appeared on the ground outside.  Rikku cautiously stepped out toward it, becoming illuminated in half an instant.  The gusts created by the landing airship played with her cloak and skirt, blowing them in all directions to reveal her shivering legs to Gippal and anyone else around who cared to watch.  Rikku pulled down her clothes to cover herself before approaching the extended plank.

            Just before entering, Rikku slipped.  Gippal's arm appeared from within the interior of the dimly lit ship.  _Oh, what the heck_, she thought, taking hold of his forearm and going inside.  It was better to utilize the assistance that he offered than to make a fool of herself sliding off the plank and falling to the muddy earth.

            The plank retracted and the door thudded shut behind them.  The lights imbedded in the ceiling buzzed and the room grew brighter.

            "You painted it," Rikku observed after taking down her hood.  She glided across the floor in a circle to fully appreciate the depth of the aqua color.  "Pretty." 

            Gippal smiled.  He remained quite the gentleman and took her coat and bag for her, placing them in a closet with an automatic sliding door.  He certainly had all the latest inventions at his disposal, she noted.

            "So what was so urgent you called me at five in the morning?"

            Rikku smiled at him, her eyes turning into crescent moons and her mouth widening to cover a good part of her face.  "I need a favor."  She let her words emerge like a song with no melody.  Gippal knew how to manipulate girls all right, but she knew how to manipulate right back.

            He seemed to relax immediately upon seeing her grin.  His shoulders drooped to their regular position, his fake smile transformed into a true one.  The nervous look in his eye, though, remained, as well as the perked nature of his scalp (his spiked hair stood up a bit more than normal).  He was nervous about something.

            Oh well, she couldn't be bothered with _his_ worries right now.

            "If you've got a girl back there, you honestly should have dropped her off before coming to get me," Rikku told him, strolling in the direction of the bedroom door.  She could see the room was empty, so she spun around and winked up at the man.  "You planned ahead.  Good job."

            Gippal frowned slightly.  His shoulders dropped just a notch more.  Why was her teasing upsetting him so much more than normal?

            _Hmm…_  Rikku considered the situation for a moment.  _Must just be 'cause it's so early?  I do feel bad for waking him up—but this is important!_

            "What about your favor, Rikku?"

            "I need to," she began, her words broken by nervous giggles.  "I need to, um, borrow your ship…?"

            "You what?"

            "Just a few days, I promise!  _'Kay_?"

            He looked confused now.  Surprised, too.

~

            _Borrow the ship?  Now why would she want to do that?_  Gippal could only scratch the back of his head.  "Okay, but you've got to tell me what it's for.  I put a lot of work into this baby," he explained, walking over to touch the navigation panel, "and I don't want anything to happen to her."

            "I need to find somebody," she said simply, not meeting his gaze for some reason.

            "Anyone I know?"

            She shook her head.  Still no eye contact.  "Nope, don't think so."

            "What kind of person?"

            "A friend…"  She had such a song-like quality in her voice when she was trying to be vague.  So charming, so pretty.  He would have listened to her avoid questions all day long—had he not been so worried about what she was trying to not tell him.

            "How many times have I helped you out, Gippal?" Rikku was saying, apparently testing another method of attaining her goal.  "Whenever you need to find something, aren't I the one you call?"

            "I pay you, though.  And it's the Machine Faction dealing with the Gullwings, not you doing business with me."  Oh man.  He had that stupid defensive, edgy feeling again.  His emotions were like lava inside him, churning and bubbling.  Oh God, if only he could touch her hair or _something_…if only she would allow him to be close to her.  It was exhausting to just stand, to stop himself from reaching out and grabbing her right then and there.

            Damn.  Damn it all!  Why had her years of indifference only served to entice him more than before?  Why did her cool manner make him want her all the more?  She was torturing him, singing her vague responses, carelessly fluttering her eyelashes—and on the search for "_somebody_."

            "Who is it, Rikku?  Don't play games with me," Gippal said.

            Rikku gave a start.  She had gone over to inspect the control panel while he had zoned out into the realm of internal debate, and seemed a little surprised to hear his voice again.  "Games?" she asked, laughing.  "I thought you lived your life by playing games, Gippal."

            It was true.  For so long he had lived life as one intrigue to the next.  How could he explain that that wasn't what he wanted anymore?  How could he say that he wanted to relinquish his lonely freedom for the love of one woman?  That he would give up anything so long as he could be with her?

            It was too much to say, too many feelings and thoughts to simplify into words.  All he could do was agree to loan her the ship—on the sole condition that he would be along for the ride.

***


	4. Time To Think

            The first sensation he experienced was of the frigid wind passing through him.

            The man looked down, utilizing his sense of sight for the first time in over nine years.  Wait.  He had eyes again?  Admittedly, it was just the one—the other was horribly scarred over—but he had organs, any at all?  He had substance?

            Before him, there were vaguely familiar shapes.  After a second he knew they were hands, _his _hands, and saw that they were connected to arms, which in turn joined to a torso at the shoulders.  Long, sturdy legs supported him, and, at the very top of his body was a head decorated by a mane of black hair.  He could faintly see the ground through himself, but his assembled body was solidifying quickly enough.  Not quite so fast, however, as to allow for his dormant mind to fully awaken and grasp the situation.  Disjointed thoughts flowed in and out of his consciousness.

            Death.  Revenge.  Sin defeated.  Peace.  Rest.  Pyreflies.  Freedom.  Memories.  Feelings.  Obligation.  Then…confusion.

            _Who…who am I?_

            His heart at once began pumping, sending blood coursing through him, out to the ends of his fingertips, down even to warm his newly formed toes.  He had the sensation of touch once more.

            While exercising his lungs—tasting air after so long—the man first felt his chest, touching the smooth black material of the sleeveless shirt he wore, sensing the strong beating going on within his ribcage.  His hands ascended, took strands of the black and gray hair between his thick fingers, moved over and touched a scruffy chin.

            He was missing something.  His neck was in need of a covering, a large collar he could only vaguely recall.  He brought one hand from his forehead to his chin, letting the fingertips linger on a large scar crossing through his right eye.  Glasses, where were his sunglasses?

            And, most importantly of all, his coat.  Where the hell was his coat?

~

            The woman pulled up her skirts and waded into the sparkling blue ocean.  She continued carefully until the cool water barely ebbed in and out about her knees.  She was content to stand there for a moment, her eyelids shut, her nostrils and ears wide open.  She smelled the strong salt air of the sea, heard the calling of the seagulls that could not contain their excitement at living through another day of bright sunshine on sea and land and gentle breezes whispering through the trees.

            "Yuna!"

            The lady turned to see her friend coming down the beach.  Lulu wore black Capri pants and a sleeveless gray blouse.  Her shimmering dark hair flew freely in the wind, save two braided strands that were pulled from just above her ears to join at the back of her head.  The woman's once pale skin was still light in color, but it had grown tanned during the long hours of overseeing her son play in the woods and along the shore.

            Yuna admired the healthy and beautiful appearance of her friend while she stepped out from the water.  She let the layers of purple skirt drop down and bounce until they came to a rest around her wet shins.  On top she wore a cream colored blouse with long, draping sleeves—a style influenced by the clothing of the Guado.

            The sand was white beneath their feet, hot and prickling as the yellow sun shone down fiercely upon it.  Lulu offered Yuna her sandals, which she had picked up on her way from the village.

            "Thank—ow!"  The sand was burning Yuna's vulnerable soles.  Leaning on the other woman for support, the former summoner lifted one foot at a time, brushed the sand from it, and fastened to it a leather sandal.

            Lulu could only shake her head, but Yuna laughed and the two began to walk together, as friends close as sisters are apt to do, in the direction of the dock.  Some of their fellow villagers were loading up the latest trade ship to Kilika.

            "Lady Yuna, Lady Lulu," Keepa greeted, giving each a slight nod.  Grunting, he heaved a large crate from the ground to his shoulders and waddled down the platform.

            Yuna found herself laughing again for some reason.  Lulu shot her a questioning look.

            "I'm just so happy," the brunette said, stretching her arms high into the air.

            "Why's that?"

            "I just have a good feeling.  Don't you ever just get a good feeling about things, Lulu?"

            "I suppose so.  But I haven't had much time for them lately.  Vidina and Wakka keep me too busy worrying."

            They reached the end of the beach and took a slow half circle to begin strolling in the other direction.  From the woods emerged Wakka, Tidus, Lenne, and Vidina, all fighting over a blitzball.  They saw the two women and waved enthusiastically at them.  The mothers smiled and waved in return, but stuck to their girl talk for a while longer.

            "I just have this…this intuitive feeling," Yuna confided in her friend.  "I think that Sir Auron could be brought back to us!"

            Lulu stopped immediately.  "What are you talking about?"

            Yuna tilted her head, cheerful in the face of the other's skepticism.  "Why did Tidus come back, Lulu?  I wanted to see him so badly that the fayth brought him back to me."

            "But isn't that different?"  Lulu gazed out at the sea before turning back to her companion, a serious expression in her violet eyes.  "Tidus was made real, Yuna, not brought back to life.  Before he was a dream of the fayth, Yuna, not a real person who died."

            Yuna either didn't see the difference or refused to.  She took a moment to organize her thoughts and spoke once more, trying to continue wearing a confident smile.  "I was speaking with Sir Auron, though, at the Farplane.  I told him that Rikku missed him."  Lulu was listening, although, from her expression, not seeing where all of this was leading.  "And then he disappeared, Lulu.  Tidus went in later and he couldn't summon Sir Auron either."

            Lulu remained silent for a long while.  Her friend found this worrisome.

            "Well?"

            "Yuna, you have to consider the implications of what you are saying.  But first, just think for a minute.  Don't you think everyone wishes for dead loved ones to come back to life?  Wishing doesn't ever make it happen, does it?"

            It was true.  As a child, Yuna had prayed daily that her father could come back, that he somehow could live again.  Her wishes had never been fulfilled, true, but…

            Meanwhile, Lulu continued.  "How many people have died, Yuna?  Even if just the past thousand years?  If they were all wished back to life, what would happen to Spira?  There would be millions of people everywhere you went.  There would never be enough food to feed them all, nor enough clothes or homes to keep them warm.  There would be tension, which would lead to fighting and then another war would break out.  Perhaps the entire cycle of Sin would begin again!"

            Yuna suddenly felt ashamed.  She had never considered any of that.  She had selfishly wished for her own loved ones to be returned to her.  Lulu's words were imbued with reason.  Her thoughts were not often driven by emotion, as Yuna's were prone to be.

            Lulu looked down into Yuna's eyes.  "I know the pain that comes with the death of a loved one just as well as you do, Yuna.  Everyone must face it.  It's terrible, but we must all learn to accept it.  Death is an important part of life.  It is…necessary."

            Lulu touched her friend's shoulder before taking up her walk again.  Her seven-year-old son, Vidina, hurried to his mother and passed her the blitzball.  Lulu laughed and threw herself running into the game, tossing the ball to her husband.

            _Lulu learned to let go of the past long before I did_, Yuna reflected, settling down onto the beach to watch the game.  _I can't believe how foolish I still am.  Of course it's foolish to try and bring back every person who has left us.  I only thought about how nice it would be for Rikku to see Sir Auron again, maybe just one more time…  I knew deep down that it couldn't really happen._

            "What's got you looking so gloomy?"

            Yuna looked up to see Tidus's concerned face gazing down at her.  She offered him her arms and he pulled her to a stand.

            _I just wanted Rikku to have a chance at the happiness I was so lucky to receive.  I suppose my only choice is to help her move on.  Sir Auron is dead, and he deserves to rest.  His place is in the Farplane._

            "You mute or something?" teased Yuna's husband.  He touched his lips to the woman's nose and then to her lips, a brief kiss to reveal a taste of the infinite love he felt for her.

            _We all must look toward the future now, because it's all we have._

            "I'm not mute," she retorted, pretending to be offended.

            "Good, because I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't hear your voice again."  His arm encircled her thin waist, and the two walked back toward the blitzball game.

            "Tidus," Yuna said, coming to a halt before the laughing players surrounded them.  The man stopped as well, worry again dominating his tanned features.  Yuna took his hand and placed it over her slightly rounded stomach.  "I've been meaning to tell you:  Lennie has a brother or sister on the way."

~

            "What's taking us so long to get going?" Gippal asked lazily from his bed in the back room.  The lack of sleep was starting to catch up with him.  He had allowed Rikku the use of his bed for a few hours and had slept a bit himself, seated on the floor with his face pressed against the painted metal wall.  He'd started drooling a bit and Rikku had had the gall to wake up and find him that way.

            Rikku didn't respond to his inquiry, so the man stood.  He peeked through the doorway to see her seated figure staring down at something from the pilot's chair.  Well, it had been over a day since he had changed clothes, so the Al-Bhed slipped into the small bathroom.  After brushing his teeth, shaving, and scrubbing his face clean, he donned some dark blue pants and a green long-sleeved shirt with the word "_Fehhan_" on the front in chunky white lettering.

            His shipmate was still at the control panel.  He went over to see what she was concentrating on and found it to be a projection of a map of the planet.

            "Lemme guess…you have no clue where you're going."

            "Shut up!" she snapped defensively.  "There's plenty of places to go.  I just don't know where to start, that's all."

             "Riiight."  He leaned over, his body pressing against her shoulder.  Rikku said nothing, but slid the chair to the side.  The man was left to regain his balance.

            With a slightly disgusted edge to her voice, Rikku read the man's shirt.  "Winner?  Honestly, Gippal."

            "Honestly what?  Who's the leader of the Machine Faction, hmm?"

            "The _irresponsible_ leader."

            "Whatever!  You know I'm uniting the Al-Bhed with the other tribes of Spira."

            She rolled her eyes at him and turned her attention back to the projection.

            "Hey!"  He grabbed hold of Rikku's shoulder, secretly rejoicing at what warmth of hers radiated through the fabric of the orange sweater.  "You can't just ignore me."

            Seeming to have forgotten the recent path of their conversation, Rikku turned to him.  "Hey, Gippal, can I ask you a hypothetical question?"

            "Hypothetical?  Go for it."  He slid into the copilot's seat, feeling relieved that she was still talking to him.

            "Say you had to go away from Spira to, oh, I dunno, but you left Spira for somewhere else."

            "What else _is_ there except Spira?"

            "Don't you know what 'hypothetical' means?" she demanded.  "Just answer."

            He wanted to say, "I'd find out where you were and go there right away," but he found he couldn't.  He was worried about this "friend" Rikku was searching for.  From the way she avoided telling him who the mysterious person was, Gippal could only guess it was a guy.  A guy!  Gippal would have to wait to meet this idiot and size up the competition.  Then he would devise a way to prove to Rikku that he was superior in every way possible.

            "_Hey-lo?_  Gippal, you in there somewhere?"

            "I would go to Bikanel and see how the Al-Bhed were doing," he said dully, caring to give no explanation for his reverie.  What he said _was_ true; he worried about his people.  But there was one of his tribe that he worried about most of all.

            "Oh."

~

            Rikku sunk back into her chair, basically ignoring the man next to her.

            She realized she didn't know very much at all about Auron.  Did he have a "people" as she and Kimahri did?  Where had he been born?  It had never seemed like he had family around—not to mention that having living parents or even siblings during Sin's reign was excessively rare—but that didn't automatically mean Auron had no family.  Auron had had ties to the warrior monks, so…

            "Bevelle," Rikku announced suddenly, making Gippal jump.  "I decided.  We're going to go to Bevelle."


	5. Looking For You

            He finally noticed the cold wind stinging his bare arms and face.  It took him several minutes to register this, but, once he did, the man shivered.  There was also a stark whiteness surrounding him.  After a moment he remembered that what he saw was snow.

            "Gagazet," he said, as memories of the place trickled into his consciousness.  He had fallen from the mountain so many years ago.  At its foot he had spoken his last words and breathed his last breath.

            He willed his body into motion and found himself employing a careful, powerful stride, carrying himself as he always had.  Although his mind was overflowing with questions, the image he presented to anyone watching was of a calm and confident individual—someone who knew exactly what he was doing.

            He passed through a set of stone pillars, the gate that would lead him from the sacred mountain.  Approaching footsteps crunched and squeaked in the cold snow.  He looked up to find a group of Ronso, a mature man and woman keeping a trio of youth company.

            The Ronso man stopped immediately, his broken horn catching the light that filtered through the gray clouds covering the sky.

            "Kimahri," the human said, managing to recognize him although his former companion seemed much older.

            "Auron," Kimahri spoke in his low, gruff voice.  His yellow eyes, however, betrayed his surprise.

~

            The streets of Bevelle were crowded as usual.  In the shadow of the fallen temple, a city of millions thrived.  As Al-Bhed, Rikku and Gippal had not spent much time there until the arrival of the Eternal Calm.  Still, it was not until the joint efforts of the Youth League, New Yevon, and the Machine Faction had begun to take effect over the following years that all groups of Spirans could feel comfortable mingling together in place that had once been the epitome of racial division.

            "Could you tell me why we're here again?" Gippal wondered.  The two were catching their breath, having just ducked into a stone arch doorway to get out of the way of a passing caravan.

            Rikku ignored his question and in a flash was gone; she had dove again into the crowd.  Her blond ponytail disappeared and reappeared continuously in the sea of bobbing heads as she wove her way around the bartering customers and shopkeepers.

            Gippal sighed before plunging in himself.  This sort of thing had been going on since they had first arrived.  Did she honestly expect to pick one face out of the thousands they passed?  What if this person she was searching for wasn't even in Bevelle?

            His concerns distracted him for a second too long.  The Al-Bhed man cursed when he realized he had lost track of Rikku.  After ten minutes of trying to stand still in the moving crowd, trying to find her again, he gave up and let the stream of people carry him to a quieter area.  Standing at the entrance to a wide alley, he spotted a mostly deserted bridge past the end of it.  Gippal broke from the mass of people and found a spot to stand on the bridge.  He leaned over the ledge and gazed downward.  From this vantage point he was able to look down at the river and the bustling streets to either side of it.

            The summer breeze teased his spiked blond hair, breathed coolly over his tanned features.  In this place he was able to attain a small sense of peace.  He could breathe when not being pressed on my so many hurried shoppers and business people.

            He had come to this bridge before—sometimes with a girl at twilight, yes—but more often he came alone.  The night would have settled across the city, his business with Baralai and New Yevon would be finished, and he would stroll from the temple to this place.  The sky would be black, a few pieces of gray clouds would hover around a chunk of pearl white moon.  The wind came often then, too, but it would have a chill in it that would make him shiver.  The kind of sensation that reminded him he was alive.

~

            Tidus couldn't stop smiling, wouldn't stop throwing Lennie into the air and catching her again and again.  He would pause briefly to take his wife for a spin and a kiss, and Yuna would respond by laughing and kissing him back happily.

            It was evening of the day after Yuna's quiet announcement, and at their house the family was holding a small party.  Yuna was cooking up her husband and daughter's favorite fried fish while Lenne prepared a salad and Tidus washed the fruit that would be part of their dessert.  The cooking complete, they sat down at the small round table in the front room and feasted.

            "How soon, how soon?" Lenne kept asking.

            "Oh, several months," Yuna replied, petting the girl's hair gently.

            "Hurry up!" commanded the girl, directing her comments toward her mother's stomach.

            Tidus was beaming, his smile so radiant it lit up the whole room.

            Yuna remained calm, but inside she felt the warmth that comes with contentment.  She took a thin, crescent-shaped blade and sliced the fruit into three ceramic bowls, topping each serving generously with cream.  Her man and girl took their dessert and ate quickly, while Yuna went one small spoonful at a time.

            They were all about ready to settle down when Wakka burst through the flap that served as the hut's door.

            "What is it, Wakka?" Tidus wondered, standing.

            The orange-haired man just shook his head.  "Ya wouldn't believe it…  Kimahri's on the Commsphere…and…"

            "And what?" Yuna broke in.

            "Sir Auron is with him."

~

            The door slid open automatically, buzzing softly.

            "Where the hell were you?"

            Rikku gave a start when she heard Gippal's angry voice.  She was stretched across his bed in the _Desert Rose_, her hair a mess, her cloak a little soiled and still on her.  She looked up at him, issued a syllable of greeting, and fell back against the comforter.

            "I've been looking for you all day, you know that?  I must have gone through half of Bevelle!"

            "Sorry."

            "I was worried about you!  Why did you wander off by yourself like that!"

            "You didn't have to come after me," she said dully.  "And I went through _all_ of Bevelle today, so…"

            "Why do you think he's in Bevelle anyway?  Couldn't you—couldn't you have planned this better?"

            Rikku exerted just enough energy to lift herself into a seated position, and from there she fell over on her bent elbows and looked up at him through a tangled mane of blond hair.  "I didn't ask you to come with me.  I only asked to borrow your ship."

            "Well I'm glad I didn't leave you all alone—although you seem determined to run off and get yourself into trouble despite that."

            "Whaddya mean, 'trouble?'  I didn't get into any trouble!"

            "Then how do you explain your appearance, huh?  You fall into the river or somethin'?"

            "As a matter of fact, I did.  Not that it's any of your business."

            "M-My business, huh?  Well, excuse me if I'm worried about you!"

            "Oh shut up," Rikku said, crawling to the edge of the bed.  She slipped off, feet first luckily enough, and stood.  She took a few seconds to pull her shirt back over her stomach and arrange her cloak around her before heading for the exit.

            "Where are you going now?"

            "Why do you care?"  She was at the closest getting her satchel from within it.  "I'm leaving."

            His arm was already out to block her.  "You can't do that!  It's the middle of the night!"

            Rikku stared at him with tired but angry eyes.  "Why are you acting like I can't take care of myself?  Do you think I suddenly became helpless or something?  I forgot how to fight?"

            "Those guys prowling the streets right now fight dirty, Rikku."

            "I can defend myself, fair fight or not."

            "Still—"

            "Still what?  You act like I'm a baby or something.  I'm twenty-four years old, Gippal!  Honestly!  Wasn't I part of the team that defeated Yu Yevon and brought the Eternal Calm?  Didn't I fight Vegnagun too?"

            "Yes, but…"

            "I can't stand you!  Get offa me right now, or—"  She was struggling by this point, trying to get to the door but being held back.  He was using both arms, holding her within a protective embrace.  She considered sending her elbow up into his stomach, but thought that too cruel.

            "You can search later, can't you?  Just…just stay with me."

            Rikku stopped wrestling for a second.  His voice had changed somehow.  He sounded almost defeated.

            _No, this is the same crap he pulls every time…  First I feel sorry for him, then he gets what he wants.  He's just manipulating me again._

            Gippal took hold of her chin with his large hand, engulfing one side of her small face with his fingers.  He forced her to look up into his face, and she found his expression to be more sincere than she had ever seen it before.  He looked so lonely and helpless.

            "Gippal," Rikku murmured quietly.  "I'm sorry.  But we can't—"

            All at once he was kissing her and holding her close to him.  His mouth tasted good, just as she remembered, and yet she had to pull away from his arms, pry her lips from his.

            "Why do you always have to do this?"  The woman sighed.  "You know how I feel."

            "But it's all right now.  I need to tell you, Rikku.  It's different—"

            They were interrupted by a loud beeping from the controls at the front of the ship.

            "What's that?" the woman wanted to know.

            "A message."  Gippal went to the back room to take it.  Rikku decided to wait instead of sneaking out while he was busy.  She was improving at not giving into her childish instincts, at least sometimes.  It would be unfair to leave before the two of them could sit down and talk all of this out.  Obviously, Gippal had something important to tell her.

            "Rikku?" he called from the bedroom.

            "Yeah?"

            "It's for you."

            A sudden burst of vanity consumed her and Rikku ran to the bathroom to straighten out her hair before going to bend over the screen embedded in Gippal's desk.  The image it displayed was of an anxious Yuna.

            "Yunie!"

            "Rikku," the woman began nervously.  "I'm sorry we couldn't find where you were earlier.  I called the Celsius and everywhere else I could think of before trying Gippal."

            "He was helping me with a mission," her Al-Bhed cousin broke in quickly.  She didn't want Yuna to get the wrong idea about them being together late at night.

            "Well, you won't believe this.  I can't believe it myself."

            "What?"

            "Kimahri called us today.  With him was…or, Rikku, you'll never believe it!"

            "Well, try me!"

            "Sir Auron!"

            Rikku about fell back, but Gippal reached out a hand to steady her.  Auron was really alive?  It was too good to be true.  She had hoped for it enough to search Spira for him, but now that he was out there in a definite location speaking to her other friends…

            "Rikku, you all right?" Yuna's slightly mangled voice came from the speakers in the desk.

            "Yeah.  Yeah, I'm good."

             Yuna obviously didn't believe her, but the former summoner only nodded and accepted her cousin's lie.  "All of us are going to meet here tomorrow at around noon.  Can you believe it, Rikku?  We'll all be together again.  Our group will be reunited!"

            "I can't believe it," Rikku murmured inaudibly.  Raising her voice, she said, "Noon?  Sounds good.  You can count on me to be there."

            "Good night, Rikku."

            "'Night…"

            The transmission ended.  Rikku stepped wearily backward, falling back on the bed.  She stared at the painted ceiling, blinking continuously.  In less than a day she would see him again, and she could not think of anything to say.

***


	6. The Promised Reunion

            Lulu slid silently along the forest path, her violet eyes fixed straight ahead.  Her black skirts flowed about her like a moving ocean, almost too slow to keep up with the lady's determined pace.

            The trees ended abruptly and she found herself treading on the worn road that circled the cliff and passed beneath the waterfalls.

            It was not very light yet; dawn was still a few minutes away.  The great sky was being painted over and over again with various pastel shades of reds and oranges, until the horizon turned such a brilliant color that it appeared to be on fire.  The black-haired, pale-skinned woman watched for several minutes.  She was only able to appreciate the landscape on a certain level, for she was much too busy thinking of what was to occur that day.

            "What do we do now?"

             Yuna appeared, the flaming sunrise set almost directly behind her.  As she approached, Lulu observed the unkempt quality of her brown hair, the circles under her anxious eyes, the downward slope of her unpainted lips.

            "You never get up this early."  It was all Lulu could think of to say.

            "I couldn't sleep."  The younger woman shrugged before turning to face the rising sun.  "Lulu, I was finally able to let Sir Auron go and I found out he's alive…  Not only that, but he's going to come here—_today_!"

            "I was shocked as well," the black mage admitted, blinking and turning away from the intensity of the dawn.  Some strands of loose black hair fell across the sides of her face, and she let them hang there to shield her eyes.

            "I have such…mixed feelings…"

            "So do I."

            Yuna bent over, letting out a long and frustrated sigh toward the earth.  "Oh, how did this happen?  Like you said, Auron's supposed to be dead."  She straightened immediately, a worrisome thought apparently entering her mind.  "Could that mean he's an unsent?"

            "I'm not sure.  He looked…younger than before."

            "The unsent can change their appearance, though—like Lady Yunalesca and Maester Seymour…"  The former summoner shuddered.  "What if they come back too?"

            "I don't know, Yuna.  I don't have any answers for you now."

            Yuna jumped, and Lulu guessed she had sounded more irritated than intended.  The black-haired woman reached out her hand and touched her companion's shoulder.  "Forgive me.  I couldn't sleep either."

            Yuna nodded.

            "You will have to try to send him."

            "I know…"  Yuna had her face turned away, but her sadness was betrayed by the choking in her voice, which she was able to dismiss when she spoke once more.  "I do have Nirvana stored away.  I suppose I can take it out one more time, if it becomes necessary."

            Lulu touched her friend's shoulder again, having to communicate how proud she was without the use of words.

            Yuna faced her once more.  "What happens if…if he really is alive again?  Could anybody come back to life then?  Could Maester Seymour, Lady Yunalesca, Yu Yevon…?"

            "I…"  Lulu sighed, shaking her head slowly.  "I don't know."

~

            Gippal gazed down at Rikku's sleeping form, observing the rising and falling of the comforter that he had carefully wrapped around her.  She had been very shaken after the call from Yuna, and he had had to convince her to drink tea mixed with a sleeping potion for her to get any rest at all.  The woman had only relented after procuring no less than a dozen promises from him.

            He had vowed, risking the safety of his spiked blond hair, his position as head of the Machine Faction, and even his own life.  He would wake her up with plenty of time to get ready, he would do a maintenance check on the _Desert Rose_, he would dig out something decent to wear from his closet or there was no way he would step onto Besaid while she was there…

            When she had finally had the tea and dozed off, Gippal carried Rikku to his room and laid her out across the bed.  He fluffed his pillow before placing it under her head, shook the wrinkles from the sheets before pulling them over her body.  He had done something bad, too:  before clicking off the light and leaving her to rest in peace, Gippal had taken Rikku's head in his hands and kissed her for a long time.  He had not dared to do anything more than press his lips against hers, but he longed for more—secretly, to have her wake and laugh and pull him down for a more intense sort of kiss, and maybe even something more.  This wasn't going to happen, and of course it didn't, but he had his fantasies.

            Now it was nine o'clock, the promised hour of awakening.  He had performed the maintenance check, hesitating for a moment before completing it properly.  He honestly wanted to stick a fork into the engine and twist with all his might, destroying the mechanism so that they couldn't travel anywhere.  Rikku would have a few minutes to look at Gippal and realize that this guy—who the Al-Bhed was _sure_ was supposed to be dead—was not worth chasing all over the planet, that she had a swell guy right there.

            Guilt, however, began to trickle into his thoughts, and Gippal found himself unable to carry out this devious plot.  He put the fork away and cleaned the engine instead of disabling it.  Why?  For one thing, he did not want a beating.  Really, though, he knew what Rikku was capable of when she was determined enough.  A fried engine wouldn't stop her; she would simply go into town and hire the next shuttle out of Bevelle.

            "Rise and shine," he announced presently, clicking on the light.  Rikku murmured something in her sleep, so he went and ripped the covers off of her.

            "Agh!  Whaddya think you're doin'?" she complained, curling into a ball.

            "Fulfilling my promise," he said dully.  "You can go back to sleep if you want.  Just don't touch my hair."

            Rikku was sitting in a flash, frantically pulling tangled blond hair from her face.  "Oh, what time is it?"

            "Nine.  Just like you said."

            "I said nine _at the latest_," she roared, rising from the bed and tripping into the bathroom in a bizarre tangle of sheets, pajamas, blond hair, and tanned limbs.  Gippal was able to laugh at her for a moment.

            Then he remembered what it was like to have her fuss over _him_ like that.

            Gippal let out a wistful sigh before heading for the pilot's chair.

           "Besaid, here we come," he said mournfully over the controls.

~

            Auron did not have much to say.  Those welcoming him were used to his stoic silence, but they were not aware that this instance was so very different from others.  That he moved about wordlessly because he felt there was nothing _to_ say.  All the time he had spent with these people nine years ago, he had been in a position of authority, remaining quiet until it seemed his advice was necessary.

            Now they were all older, with their own families and developed lives.  Of course he was proud to see this, but it was also a very clear indication—in his eyes at least—that he was no longer needed in Spira.  That his time was over.

            Hadn't he decided this nine years ago when he had allowed Yuna to send him?  He had lingered in the world of the living too long—ten years too long—and it had been time for him to enter the Farplane.

            Why was he back now?  He had some trouble figuring it out.  Memories of the years spent in Spira's afterlife were stored in a small but peaceful corner of his thoughts.  He hadn't really had a mind then; he had been only a cluster of memories floating aimlessly through the flower fields and about the glistening waterfalls.

            Now, though, he was back with a life force much stronger than he remembered from his time passing between Zanarkand and Spira.  Almost like those twenty-five years when he had actually lived—

            Auron clenched his fingers into a fist, feeling the muscles, bones, and tissues tightening.  This flesh gently pulsing with the blood pumped by his heart…

            "Sir Auron?"

            Yuna's eyes, a sapphire and an emerald, were looking rather concernedly up into his face.  She tilted her head and said, "Is something the matter?"

            "It is nothing."

            They had been walking from the coast, where the shuttle from Mt. Gagazet had landed, through the woods to the village.  The clearing had been widened since ten years ago to accommodate perhaps a dozen more small buildings.  Still, compared to what Auron had witnesses flying over Luca and Kilika, this sort of expansion was nothing.

            They arrived at the entrance to one of the new houses.  "Kimahri, Sir Auron, welcome," the summoner said warmly, pulling open the flap to reveal the interior of her home.

            Inside, the trio found Lulu, Wakka, and Tidus seated on wooden chairs next to the empty fireplaces.  The two men each had a child seated on his knee, Wakka holding a boy and Tidus a girl a few years younger.  Back at Gagazet, Auron had spent the night with Kimahri, his wife, and their three rambunctious sons.  The human boy and girl seemed a lot tamer, even if she clenched a blitzball between her short fingers.

            There was a lot of embracing and handshaking and excited talking for the next few minutes.  Yuna seemed as though she might cry when she saw Tidus throw his arms around the older man.  Auron, for his part, nodded and tried to smile.  He even spoke a little, telling them that they all looked very well.

            When things had settled down, after Auron had been urged into the largest chair in the house and had been given a cool, whipped fruit drink spiked with a touch of "flavorin'" (or so Wakka put it), the men and women fell into silence.

            Auron knew it was his fault, and he wanted to apologize.  The thing was he wasn't quite sure how to define what he was sorry about.  Obviously, they were happy to see him—not to say that he wasn't as happy to be reunited with them—and while all that was well and good, there was no one to exclaim why such a miracle had occurred.

            "Would you like to rest?" Lulu said suddenly from beside him.  "Lunch won't be for a while—"

            "Oh, I should start that," Yuna broke in, and promptly left the hut.

            "—so there's plenty of time."

            "Thank you," Auron said dismissively, and he watched the dark-haired woman nod and glide out the door.  The two children bounced up and hurried out after, in a sudden and frenzied game of tag.  Kimahri, who had stationed himself beside the door like a sentry, turned and followed them.

            The samurai soon found himself staring at the frothy pink surface of his beverage.

            Wakka tilted his head back and began to glug down what remained of his own drink.  He then breathed appreciatively and wiped his mouth with the back of one hand.  "How's things goin'?"

            "I can't complain."

            Wakka nodded slowly before rubbing the top of his head.  He had at least made one improvement over the years; his once outrageous hair was trimmed so it now consisted of orange spikes of only two inches.

            "None of us really care how you got back, Auron, only that you _did_ come back."

            Auron's eyes fell on Tidus, who had been quiet for a while.  He found the blond man leaning forward and smiling earnestly.

            "I've learned not to question spontaneous resurrections."

            It was supposed to be a joke, but Auron found he could not manage so much as a smile.  Resurrection?  He had had no body to reanimate.  It didn't feel like the old body, anyway; it was as though this one was brand new.

            He decided to speak, though.  "So the fayth found a way to make your existence here permanent."

            "Yep.  It sure took some doing, though.  I have Yuna to thank for everything."

            "Don't forget Rikku," Wakka interrupted.  "And Paine."

            The second name he did not recognize, but Rikku…?  Her name had had something to do with his return.  Some sense of obligation experienced by his pyreflies on the Farplane…

            _"She really seems to miss you."_

            "Hey, Sir Auron," Wakka said.  "I got a question."

            "Ask it, then."

            "How come you look younger?"

             It had completely slipped his mind.  Yes, when he had seen a mirror at Kimahri's home, he had been stunned to find himself free of gray hair and any wrinkle whatsoever.  It made sense, though.  He had been killed by Yunalesca at the age of twenty-five.  For ten years afterward he had been unsent, altering his appearance just enough to avoid arousing suspicion.

            Auron related this chain of thoughts with as few words as possible.  "I died when I was twenty-five."

            "Ah."

            For the next few minutes, Auron concentrated on finishing his drink.  The other two shifted uncomfortably, once in a while breaking into short exchanges of monosyllabic sentences before they lapsed into silence once more.  From outside filtered in the sounds of the villagers passing by, the clanging as Lulu and Yuna prepared food over the campfire, the loud laughing of the playing children.

            "I think I'll go check on Lenne and Vidina," Tidus announced, rising.

            "Me too," Wakka said, jumping up.

            "You okay by yourself?"

            Auron realized Tidus was talking to him, so he looked up, processed the inquiry, and offered a hollow smile.

            "See you in a few."  The blond blitzer waved on his way out, Wakka trailing behind with an apologetic expression plastered on his face.

            The remaining man could hear their mumblings outside the open window as they passed around the hut.  Feeling comfortably alone, he sucked down the remains of his drink and wiped his mouth.  He leaned back into the chair, wincing at the pain that sliced across his scarred eye.

            He felt the scar, retracting his hand instantly.  Why did it feel so _fresh_?  Why was the pain so intense, like when he had first received the wound?

            "I'm gonna go check," said a increasingly loud female voice from near the door.

            Auron straightened.

            "Wait here!  Geez!"

            "Why—?"  The male voice was cut off by an exclamation of pain.

            The flap was pulled open, and a young woman entered through it, looking about with bright, curious eyes.  Her blond hair was loose, stretching in modest waves to her lower back.  She wore a khaki-colored skirt that stretched down to the floor but did not hide her sandaled feet, and on top she had on a tight-fitting green tank top that suited her coloring quite well.

            Auron did not know how to react, so he only breathed in deeply as quietly as he could.

            "Anybody here, Rikku?" asked the same male voice from before.  Auron could make out the speaker, a tall Al-Bhed man with spiked hair and an eye patch.  He bent down to poke his head inside the tent, and the look he threw at Auron was of confusion, surprise, and slight disgust.

            Rikku remained silent, only staring.  After a moment she smiled meekly.  Her smile grew larger, and her eyes turned into crescent moons glistening with tears.

            She had grown very beautiful, Auron thought.


End file.
